Around $23 million in assets stolen from Swiss actress Ursula Andress — who played the original “Bond girl” in the James Bond film series — have been located, Italian police announced.
“The assets fraudulently stolen from Ursula Andress have been identified,” the Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s law enforcement agency and military police force that operates under the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, wrote in a post shared to X on Thursday, March 26.
“Assets, artwork, and financial assets worth approximately €20 million have been seized,” the police force added.
Andress, 90, had previously told Blick, a newspaper in Switzerland, that her financial adviser had scammed her out of $18 million Swiss francs over a span of eight years, The Associated Press reported. Andress also reported the alleged theft to Swiss law enforcement, leading to an investigation.
“I am still in shock,’’ Andress had told the Swiss newspaper, according to The Associated Press. “I was deliberately chosen as a victim. For eight years, I was courted and wooed. They lied to me shamelessly and exploited my goodwill in a perfidious, indeed criminal, way in order to take everything from me. They took advantage of my age.’’
Andress’ former wealth manager is accused of leading an alleged international money-laundering scheme and using part of her fortune to purchase a Tuscan villa near Florence, as well as vineyards, artwork and more assets, police said, according to The New York Times.
Andress had previously publicly shared that her wealth manager behind the alleged theft was Eric Freymond, who reportedly died of suicide at age 67 in 2025, The New York Times reported.
Italian law enforcement did not specify whether anyone was arrested in connection with Andress’ now-recovered funds, according to The Associated Press.
In 1962, Andress starred as Honey Ryder in the 1962 movie Dr. No alongside Sean Connery, who played James Bond.
After the film premiered, “her striking looks and smoldering screen presence made a strong impression on moviegoers, immediately establishing her as one of the most desired women in the world and as an ornament to put alongside some of the most bankable talent of the era,” reads her IMDB biography.
She went on to star in Fun in Acapulco with Elvis Presley in 1963 and several more films, including Bond flick Casino Royale in 1967.
Andress has also appeared on television and was last known to have been involved in a film in 2005, according to IMDB, which says she has since retired from acting.
